//------------------------------// // Chapter 17 - Down // Story: The Freelancers // by OverHeart //------------------------------// When the dust settled there was little more than silence until another hail of gunfire haphazardly aimed in their direction ripped through the walls, punching yet more holes into the already shambolic state of the stairwell landing. “Are you going to make me wait, or do I need to give you another warning?” a voice called. Nobody dared say a word and they all got to their hooves and edged up the stairs so as to make as little noise as possible. “We know you’re there, you better just show yourself seeing that you’re outmatched.” the voice drawled in annoyance. Access turned to the others and nodded, who returned with a shake of their heads. He however ignored their silent disapproval and he walked out of the now shredded doorway into the dimly lit parking garage with a thin look of confidence. It was nearly entirely full, plenty of vehicles of various levels of sturdiness to hide behind, but if a firefight broke out it might not be enough without some very quick thinking. Sheet Rock and Star gingerly made their way out of the stairwell and stood beside Access, clearly nervous at the sight of the hulking suits of power armor and their array of heavy weaponry. “Starry Night. Not surprising these two managed to talk up their skills to you. I would have preferred to just shoot you the first time you stepped out of line, but the boss didn’t want to waste the ammo.” “I did what was right. Not that someone like you would ever know. You don’t have to worry about where your next meal is going to come from.” “Spare me the lecture. Those ponies are down there because like you, they don’t know their place. But they will soon enough.” The apparent commander was flanked by two other nearly identical ponies in Power Armor, though theirs looked lighter and less armored but no less heavily armed than their commander. The light suits both had long barreled heavy cannons and looked a lot lighter on their hooves despite their heavy weaponry than their commander, who looked like a walking tank in that suit of hers. However, she had a single ten millimeter auto-cannon strapped to her and that was likely the source of the destruction caused to the stairwell, and it solidified the notion that mobility wasn’t something that’d hinder them any. Good fortune smiled upon them however, as even the light suits had some trouble with mobility despite the reduced weight, which meant if they split up and used the cars as cover, they may just make it out alive if not a little rattled. “I’ll be frank, It’ll be a shame I have to kill you but I’m sure you understand it’s just business, right? I wont leave my team like you left a certain someone.” the mare said venomously. “How dare-” Access spat, he was summarily cut off by yet another hail of gunfire aimed in their direction and all three of them rapidly scattered and took up positions behind the various vehicles stored in the garage. In the reflection of a convertible’s mirror, Sheet Rock could see the two troopers flanking their commander weren’t moving anywhere and simply watched as their commander hurled barrage after barrage of gunfire from her weapon. Each of the several second long barrages perforated the concrete and cars nearest to them setting them aflame and shredding them into scrap metal, only fit for the junkyard. She tried to console an utterly terrified Starry Night, who could barely keep herself from hyperventilating. Now occupied with keeping Starry Night from panicking, Sheet Rock found herself bombarded with messages from Access. “You good over there?” “Star isn’t doing so good. I need to get her out of here.” “Stay behind cover and get out of here if you can. They aren’t very mobile but be careful of their weapons, if they hit you, you’re finished.” Access warned. Sheet Rock didn’t want to just run, but with their lack of armament there wasn’t much that could be done otherwise given Power Armor turned a pony into a veritable walking tank, and not much could dent the commander’s armor aside from high caliber shells. “Duck between vehicles as often as you can, they wont stand up to too much gunfire.” Access ordered through text communication. “And you? Can you manage?” Access didn’t answer and just gestured for them to go while he was pinned down by yet more gunfire from the commanders auto-cannon, which made short work of the car he hid behind and it didn’t take long until it broke into several mangled pieces. “Look, Star. You’re gonna have to run when I say, okay? Just run and don’t look back. Can you do that?” Sheet Rock asked gently. Star rose to her hooves and gave Sheet Rock a weak nod, the two then darted between parked cars when the troopers had their attention occupied with hurling gunfire at Access, and they made it about half way to an open gate that led into a darkened tunnel before being pinned down by one of the light troopers heavy rifles, who had noticed them trying to leave. “Commander, two are trying to leave. Orders?” one of the light troopers stated flatly. “Move to intercept, immediately!” the commander barked back. “Like hell you will!” Access shot back. He booted a piece of the mangled car’s bodywork with all the force his augmented body could muster, which sent the piece of wreckage careening along the asphalt into the commander with some force. The impact sent the commander’s aim high into the ceiling, and the thunderous hail of gunfire shredded multiple sections of concrete where it soon fell in large chunks onto the ground and cars below. While his assailants were disorientated he chanced a peek at the situation, and as luck would have it the ceiling had pinned one of the light troopers down under a particularly large slab of concrete as it landed, it seemed that these lighter suits weren’t as resilient as the commander’s tank like suit. He peered at the pinned trooper who lay motionless on the asphalt, and it was then he saw the pool of blood that had formed on the ground. If he struck the suit in the right place, he might just be able to down them just as the rubble did. He galloped rapidly toward the surviving trooper and with all his augmented might he struck the suit in its midsection with a fore-hoof, and his strike caved in a large section of the suit where it and its wearer crumpled into a gurgling heap. Seeing that Access had downed the light trooper that’d been taking potshots at them, Sheet Rock and Star made a mad dash to the darkened exit while Access dived back behind another as of yet undamaged vehicle as more gunfire headed his way. “You must think you’re clever, murdering my comrades like that.” the commander barked. “I’d say we’re about even, actually. I think that first kill was your fault.” Access said mockingly. The commander glanced behind her at the two mares galloping for their lives, and from within her suit she smirked. “You know what, I’m going to bank on the chance that YOU are the one with the stolen data. So I’ll just bury you here, collect my bonus and laugh in the knowledge that my place in society is secure.” “You’re completely unhinged. Are you trying to get yourself killed too?” Access growled. He was summarily ignored and yet more gunfire flew from the commander’s auto-cannon, but this time it wasn’t aimed at him, it instead was aimed at some support columns that quickly crumbled to dust against the onslaught arrayed against them. With the destruction of their support columns, the parking garage ceiling started to buckle under its own weight, and the two mares could only watch as it fell apart sending tons of rubble, cabling and dust down on top of Access’ head. The commander had miscalculated however, and the rest of the garage rapidly started to fall apart as well, threatening to bury her and her comrades as well, and she found her exit to be blocked by the rapidly collapsing ceiling. Sheet Rock went to run toward the collapsing garage but was held back by Star, who after shaking her head gently managed to pull her away and off toward the relative safety of the Van to make their escape.